Last week we looked at the notion of Disciples as “more than satisfied” customers and created a working definition for Disciples in a marketing sense. While it can be easy to make excuses about your particular enterprise and its worthiness in terms of attracting disciples let’s set aside that skepticism for just a moment and look at some preparatory essentials. These are the attitudinal building blocks that lay the foundation for Disciple making:

1. You have to be prepared serve

A customer who gets exactly what they expect is satisfied. A customer who gets more than what they expect on a regular basis is ripe for becoming a Disciple. This means that you need to be prepared to go above and beyond ALL THE TIME.  It’s easy to imagine a company like Disney or Apple creating Disciples because they provide goods and services that tap into some of our core emotions and values: Family, Coolness, Escape, Social acceptance etc. But how does a lawn service or a purveyor of pencils make Disciples when the goods and services they provide are much more mundane? By going out of their way to serve the customer. Customer service that fosters Disciples does not seek to merely serve the customer needs in the moment. It seeks to anticipate the what the customer’s needs will be tomorrow and stands prepared to meet them or even preempt them.  Are you ready to anticipate and serve your customers future needs? Then you’ve begun laying the foundation for Disciple making.

2. You have to be prepared to give

Two of the characteristics we identified as hallmarks of Disciples were that they typically self-identify and that they crave ‘insider’ information. (And I’m not referring to public trading) They want to feel like they are a part of your organization. If you’re going to capture this sentiment you need to be prepared to give some form of recognition. It may be that you’ll give recognition by creating some form of membership or named group, it may be that beyond a named group you’ll provide levels of involvement, it may be that you’ll provide members with information not available to the general public. It doesn’t always mean that you’ll give away material goods, but you may choose to do that as well.

I remember standing in line to get into the Denver Zoo one summer when our kids were small. There were several new exhibits and the line literally stretched around the block. We happened to be annual pass holders at the time and I clearly recall 90 degree heat, one child strapped to my back with another in a stroller,  and no recognition that we were pass holders. We stood in line with hundreds of folks who had never seen the zoo. Now, imagine they had had a separate line for annual pass holders, that this simple change was the only ‘perk’ they gave us. Not only would we have felt as sense of thanks and recognition for  being pass holders but we would also have stood in a far shorter line. Now, how many annual passes do you think they might have sold that day had they chosen to simply give out some turn-style recognition?

Remember, this giving of recognition is above and beyond your normal service offering. “Hey, you like what we do? Why not join us? And once you do here’s what you’ll get!”

3. You have to be prepared to nuture

Sounds touchy-feely I know. In this instance think of nurturing as being something as simple as drip feeding, a little water now and again to keep growth happening. If you’d like to see a phenomenal example of this approach do a little web research into Jack Daniels Tennessee Squires. According to several sources:

“The Tennessee Squire Association was formed many years ago to honour special friends of the Distillery and their world-famous Tennessee Whiskey. Many prominent business and entertainment professionals are included amongst its members”

I know about the Squires because my dad was a member. He was given a “plot of land” (I eventually learned it was about an inch square) and at least once a year something would come in the mail, a horse chestnut from “near your property”, a plug of tobacco from a “local boy”, or some Jack Daniels logo item reserved for the Squires.  By following up over time the company nurtured the relationship and my dad was a pretty brand loyal guy I have to believe, at least in part, due to that nurturing.

So, still a skeptic? Still think your brand of organization isn’t suitable for Disciple making? Are you prepared to anticipate and meet need? Are you prepared to give recognition? Are you prepared to nurture your customer relationships? Then you may be more prepared than you think!

What is the biggest stumbling block you face in moving towards creating Disciples? How can it be moved?